smells

Aromatherapy emerged some years back, and my first thought was here's another gimmick. We don't always cling to our first thoughts, though, and I have relaxed some. There are so many powerful fragrance experiences in life, why not use these with intention for healing purposes? I still know little about the art or science of aromatherapy, but I know of personal olfactory experiences. For many decades I did not drink coffee, but just walking down the grocery store aisle where the coffee beans were nestled was a happy wakeup. Spicy peppers in a garden, pine trees, fresh mint or rosemary near the outdoor spigot all are bright fragrances. The first break in the peel of an orange is like opening a gift - such a poignant scent. Sandalwood inspires romance. Then there are some scents that bellow - keep away!

Subtle smells, some that we may not even notice, of our furniture or blankets, reassure us that we are in familiar territory, that we are safe at home. A child clutches his Felix the Cat toy close to his face, feeling the security of his familiar fabric companion. The smell of a cake baking in the oven, or fresh bread reassures us all that we are loved, that we shall be fed.

The complexity of a forest is absorbed by the senses. In one breath, smell the earth, the mouldering leaves, the different trees and grasses, the stones, the change in the weather. Smell the deer that wander across the tumbling creek, take in the wildness of the bear who just lumbered through. Living in the city, I hold on to the memory of wilderness.